Strop



(No Model.)

J. D. 8v J. T. BADER. STROP.

No. 587,328. Patented Aug. s, 1897.

v aff UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

4JOHN D. RADER AND JACOB T. BADER, OF CLYDE, OHIO.

STROP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 587,328, dated August3, 1897.

Application led December 29, 1896. Serial No, 617,365. (No model.)

' T0 @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN D. RADER and J AooB T. RADER, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Clyde, in the county of Sandusky and State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Strops, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to that class of devices generally known asrazor-strops, and it consists, essentially, of a strop in which theouter covering, of leather, canvas, or other flexible material,isconnected with adjustable means whereby it is stretched laterally or ina plane at right angles to the length of the strop and the path ofmovement of the blade of the razor or other article of cutlery tomaintain the surface of the strop under tension and to practically renewthe friction-surface of the covering during each period of stretching.

Our invention also consists of a strop having a core or body withlongitudinally-grooved edges, a flexible envelop or covering for saidcore or body, clamping-plates iitted against the sides of the envelop,and adj ustingscrews or bolts passed through the plates and sides of theenvelop and into the core, whereby when the screws are tightened theplates are forced more deeply into the grooved sides of the block and anincreased tension is given the envelop, for a purpose hereinafterstated.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like letters ofreference indicate corresponding parts, Figure l is a perspective viewof our improved strop. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the opposite side. Fig.3 is a crosssectional view on the line x of Fig. l.

In the manufacture of strops it has heretofore been the practice totighten the frictionsurface thereof after the same has been subjected touse by means which stretched the leather, canvas, or other covering inthe di"- rection of the length of the strop and parallel with the lineof movement of the blade in its sweep back and forth over the strop.This mode of tightening a strop is found by experiment not to be thebest for the reason that in such stretching the pores of the leather areclosed and the bers of other material are compacted in such a mannerthat the frictionsurface of the strop soon becomes hard and polished andceases to be the active agentfor rendering keen'the cutting edge of therazor or other blade.

With a view of providing a simple, cheap, durable, and efficientconstruction of strop We so arrange the parts that tension is applied tothe side edges of the strop to stretch the flexible Outer coveringtransversely orin a plane at right angles with the sweep of the bladeover the strop, whereby upon each tightening of this coveringpractically new parts or surfaces or pores are opened and presented tothe action of the edge of the blade, thereby insuring a keen edge to thelatter with a minimum of labor. This result isdue to the followingconstruction:

The strop has the usual wood or other hard core or body A, to which thehandle B may be secured in any appropriate manner. The opposite edges ofthe core or body are formed with grooves C, and the opposite sides ofthe core are preferably slightly sunken or grooved to form shallowdepressions adapted to contain on one side tallow or other oleaginousmaterial, which permeates that side of the covering, and on the otherside any suitable abrading composition for honing the bladefor instance,one in which the liour of emery and suitable oily substance of pasteform constitutes an essential part. The outer covering of this core orbody is of flexible material, preferably leather, formed substantiallylike an envelop or other open-ended tube of such dimensions that whendrawn endwise over the core or body it Will fit the same substantiallyclose. In other words, this envelop or outer covering is formed of onepiece with no line of severance longitudinally, and one of its sides ispreferably perforated with numerous small openings or slits b. W'hen theenv IOO the paste-like composition on the side of the core or body nextto the perforated or slitted side of the covering or envelop to besqueezed into the perforations or slits and slightly ooze from theirouter sides to furnish the required abrading material for honing theblade and pressing the oleaginous material through the pores of thecovering on the opposite or strop side of the strop. These plates wesecure :fixedly in place by means of screws or bolts E, which passthrough them and the covering or envelop and enter or pass through thewood core or body, as shown in Fig. 3.

From this description it will be seen that when the parts are thusassembled and the friction-surface of the perforate or imperferate sidesof the flexible covering or envelop have become loose or are renderedhard because of the drying of the exposed abrading material andlubricant or because the pores of the material have become closed andthe surfaces are so compacted that it is not easy to put the proper keenedge on the blade we simply tighten up the screws E, which Asinks theplates more deeply into the grooves of the core or body and therebystretches the flexible envelop in the direction of its width and atright angles to the path of movement of the blade when being swept backand forth in the act of honing a blade in the usual manner. rlhistransverse stretching of the material results in the pores which hadbeen closed by the action of the blade and other new pores being opened,thereby presenting practically a new friction-surface each time theadjustment is made, and during each of said adjustments a fresh supplyof lubricant and abrading material is supplied to said surfaces. 'lhuseach time an adjustment is made the friction-surfaces of the strop arepractically renewed, whereby the life of the strop is greatly prolongedand its effectiveness is always present.

Te are aware that it is not broadly new to provide a strop with a bodyhaving grooves in its edges in which the outer covering is secured by awire holder whose outer portion forms the handle of the dev-ice, andthis we do not claim, as in this case the only tension that is appliedto the outer covering is the initial tightening when the parts are firstassembled. Therefore such a construction is open to the objectionsbefore noted and does not result in a renewing of the friction-surfacesof the strop after continued use, which is the essential feature of ourinvention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a strop having an outer iiexible covering, a means for renewingthe friction-surface of said covering after it has become impaired byuse, consisting of a pressure device applied thereto and adapted tostretch the covering transversely and in the direction of the widththereof.

2. In a strop, the combination, of the central core or body, a flexibleenvelop or covering closely fitting the same, having one side perforateandthe other side imperforate, a paste-like abrading substance beneaththe perforate side and adapted to f1ll the perforations thereof, anoleaginous substance in rear of the imperforate side, and means forrenewing the friction-surface after it has become impaired by use andwhich stretches the covering transversely mor in a plane at right anglesto the length thereof whereby the pores of the material are kept open toallow the abrading material and oleaginous substance to escape, and torenew the frietion-surface of the strop.

3. In a strop, the combination, of a central core or body having groovededges, a flexible envelop or covering fitted to said body,clamping-plates fitted in said grooves and against the contiguous narrowside of the envelop or covering and means for adjusting said platesagainst said sides whereby the covering is stretched transversely of thestrop and of the line of movement of the blade -in its sweep across thesame.

4. As an article of man u facture,a strop having an outer envelop orcovering one side of which forms a strop-surface and the oppositesideahone-surfaoe, and means for stretching said envelop transversely ofthe path of movement of the blade after its friction-surface has becomeimpaired by use, and thereby opening the pores of the material andrenewing the friction-surfaces, and automatically supplying lubricantand abrading material thereto.

5. The combination, of a core or body having shallow depressions onopposite sides and having grooved edges, a flexible envelop or sheathfor said body, having a perforate or hone side, and an imperforate orstrop side, a lubricant in one of the depressions behind the imperforateside of the covering, a combined lubricating and abrading substance inthe other depression behind the perforate side, adapted to enter theperforations thereof, and means consisting of clamping-plates in saidgrooved edges and adjustable securing devices for stretching the enveloptransversely after its friction-surface has become impaired by use, toopen the pores of the material and force the lubricant and combinedlubricant and abrading material to the outer surfaces of the covering,and renewing said surfaces.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

JOHN D. BADER. JACOB T. BADER. Vi'tnesses LAUREL E. ROBINSON, JOHN H.RHODES.

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